Air conditioner evacuation damper



F 4, 1953 A. R. HARRIS AIR CONDITIONER EVACUATION DAMPER 5 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Dec. 9, 1 950 Feb. 24, 1953 A. R. HARRIs 'AIR CONDI-TIONEREVACUATION DAMPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed'Dec. 9, 1950 (117 el PWC, p

Patented Feb. 24, 1953 AIR CONDITIONER EVACUATION DAMPER Arvel R.Harris, Evansville, Ind., assgncr to International Harvester Company, acorporation of New Jersey Application December 9, 1950, Serial No.200,079

8 Claims.

This invention relates to air Conditioning apparatus of the portableunit ty-pe suitable for window mounting. More particularly, however, theinvention is concerned with the ventilation aspects of a unit of thischaracter, and specifically relates to an evacuation or pump-out damperreadily adaptable for use with such apparatus. p p p In amodern room airConditioning unit the apparatus must be capable of properlyconditioning, :as Well as Cooling, air before such unit acquires anacceptable status. Since proper conditioning of the air within the room:or space being cooled is frequently as important as the Cooling thereofapparatus of .this character is usually developed with this in mind. Inorder to accomplish proper Conditioning of air the apparatus in such aunit, in addition to filtering,

must be capable of: recircu-lating room air; supplying 'fresh make-upair in adjustable quantities; exhausting stale or foul air from the roomto the outside; and varying the proportions, in almost unlimiteddegrees, of the amount of fresh or make-up air admitted with respect tothe amount of stale or oul air evacuated o-r exhausted to .the outsideatmosphere; or with respect to that recirculated.

\ Hereto fore, various arrangements and structures h-ave .been employedfor the purpose of endeavoring to -accomplish the foreg oin objectives'but such structures as have been utilized have not been entirelysatisfactory. Many of these structures have been unduly complicated andcostly to fabricate, thus making the overall cost of such unitsunnecessarily expensive. Furthermore, many prior air Conditioning units,because of the Complicated nature of the known ventilating mechanisms,were willing to orsake the advantages thereof and completely omittedmeans for accomplishing the most desirable ventilating objectives. ofthe prior art structures provided means for admitting fresh or make-upair while negleoting to provide means for eXhaus-tng stale air to theoutside atmosphere. This would seem to indicate that the importance ofremoving stale or foul air from a space being cooled has either beenoverlooked or pneglected for reasons which are presently not completelyunderstood. The Complicated nature of the few structures heretoforeprovided would suggest that the additional costs introduced by theaddition of ventilating means into such structures were no-t warranted.It is felt, however, that a suitable On the other hand, some componentof a modern air conditioner, hence the present invention has for itsprincipal object the provision of an air conditioner having a simple:and inexpensively -abricated means, therein for exhausting stale airfrom a space being conditioned.

Another object is .to provide an air conditioning unit wherein the roomair fan therein may either discharge 'air removed from the room beingcooled to the outside atmosphere, or recirculate such air back .into theroom or space from which it was removed.

A further object is to provide in :a window mounted air conditioner anevacuation damper that is adaptable for directing stale or foui air froma room being cooled to a .condenser fan circuit from whence it may bedischarged to the outside atmosphere.

A still further object is to provide a slidable dam-per disposed in thedividing wall of a window mounted air conditioner, that is adjustable sothat in one #position thereof the air removed from the room isdischarged .to the outside atmosphere, while in another position theroom air is recirculated through said unit and back into the room. a

A yet still further object is to provide a slidable =damper, disposed inthe dividing wall of a window mounted air conditioner, that is soadjustable as to permit recrculation of only a portion of the airremoved from a room while the air so removed is sim-uitaneouslydischarged to the outside atmosphere.

Another important object -is to provide int a window-type airconditioner an inverted L- shaped damper that is slidably mounted in:the dividing wall thereof and manually operable between positions which:will either efiect the recirculation of air through .a room :beingcooled, or the discharge thereof into the outside atmosphere.

Other objects and advantages will be understood and will become moreapparent from the following description when read in conjunction Withthe drawngs in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, with portions thereof cut away, of an#air conditioner provided with an evacuation damper in accordance withthe present inven-tion. In this view the unit is shown before mountingin the window box Cabinet.

F-ig. 2 is a top plan view, with the cover removed and W-ith a portionof the evaporato-r housing removed, of an air conditioner equipped staleair exhaustingmeans is now an essential with the proposed damper.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 but slightly modified.to show the unit as equipped with a cover.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 but slightly modified toshow the unit as equipped with a cover. v

Ftig. 5'is .a section similar to that of Fig. 3 but With the evacuationdamper in its forward position so .that recirculation of air isprevented and all air removed from the room is discharged to the outsideatmosphere.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional- View taken on line 6-6 ofFig. 4 and shows the damper and its mounting means in greater detail.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the evacuation damper constructed inaccordance with the resent invention. In this view the damper is shownremoved from its Operational environment.

By referring to the drawings it will be noted a portable-type airconditioner suitable for win dow mounting has been illustrated. Suchunit usually includes an inner Cabinet, indicated generally by thenumeral 10, an Outer window box Cabinet l l adapted for mounting in awindow casing by suitable means, and a base structure (2 extendingbetween said cabinets and upon Which refrigerating apparatus may bemounted. The inner Cabinet may have louvers IE across an opening in thefront wall thereof, as well as louvers |4 across a discharge Outlet in atopopening cover |5'. The inner and outer oabinets are, separated by aninsulated dividing Wall IS through Which portions of the refrigeratingapparatus project for disposition on both ide thereof.

When a unit of this character is employed for Cooling a room or similarspace the unit is generally mounted in a window casing and, as is wellunderstood, the inner Cabinet portion thereof will project into thespace being cooled while the window box portion will extend into theoutside atmosphere Since the means for mounting such aunit in awindow isnot essential to the present invention the details thereof have not,been illustr'atedr and no further-description thereof will be madeherein.

A refrigerant evaporator, indicatedatv 11, is spaced inwardly of thefront wall louvered opening l3 and is enclosed in a shroud-like casingl8, one.vertical Wall' of which is open to permit the insertion thereinof a conventional air filtering screen |9. Theprear Wall of said casinghas an openingzl, therein that opens into the axial inlet of asiroccO-type blower 22, in turn, positioned within a volute scrollhousing 273, the Outlet 24; of which is in Vertical alignment withthelouvered opening |4 in said Cabinet cover. The blower 22 is mounted On ashaft 25 that forms part of an electric driving motor 26 suitablymounted On the base l2. The opposite end of said shaft has apropeller-type fan 21 thereon that projects through an opening 28 in theshroud-like casing 29 which encloses a refrigerant condenser. Positionedto oneside of said motor and suitably mounted on the base l2 is aconventional hermetically sealed refrigerant motor compressor unit 3l.Conduit lines 32 and 33 are provided to connect said compressor unit,respectively, With the evaporator and condenser, While conduit 34 joinsthe condenser and evaporator, for transmitting refrigerant therebetweenas ,is well understood in the art.

The window box Cabinet ll mayhavelouvered openings 35 in the side wallsthereof for admitloi ting air from the outside atmosphere for Coolingportions of the refrigerating apparatus. The air so admitted iscirculated over the motor-compressor Sl and electric motor 26, past thefan 27, over the surface of the condenser coil 30 and through an opening36 in the rear Wall of said Cabinet before being returned to the outsideatmosphere at a somewhat higher temperature.

As is Well understood in the art, in units of this character, air fromthe room or space being cooled is admitted through the louvered openingsl3, in the front of the inner Cabinet, then passed through the airfiltering screen IS, over the evaporator surfaces where it is cooled,and into the inlet of the blower 22 from whence it is discharged intothe volute housing 23 and through the louvered Outlet 14, in the coverof the Cabinet, back into the room or space from which it was Withdrawn;

Now in accordance with the teachings of' this invention there isprovided an evacuation or pump-out damper, indicated in a preferredembodiment generally by the numeral which includes a substantially flat,preferably non-metallic, slidable panel member 38 horizontally disposedand arranged to slide in Channel members 39 affixed on opposite sidesthereof to the verti Cal walls of the volute housing 23. An elongatedSlot-like horizontally extending opening 40, in the dividing wall IG,permits said damper panel to be slidably positioned. acrossthe openingof the volute housing 23, thus restricting the flow of air from theblower 22 and preventing it from returning, by way of the louveredopening 14, in the top cover I5, to the room or space* being cooled. Theslotted opening 49, it will benoted, is fashioned someWhat largerthanthat which ordinarily would be necessaryl to permit the panel 38 toslide therethrough, but the reason for this Will presently beunderstoodn Afiixed to the forward edge of. said damper panel isalcombination handle, stop and closure member indicated generally by thenumeral 4l. The handle portion42 may, if desired; be channel shaped tofacilitate receiving the ends of the operator s fingers when sliding thepanel; While the rear Wall 43 of said'channelportion may be utilized asa stop or an. abutment that Contacts the dividing wall 16 when the panel38 is pushed away from across the Opening 24.of said volute housing.Theo forward edge 44 of said. handle portion, preferably, projectslaterallytherefrom and thus may function as a stop Or abutment forContacting the forward Vertical wall' of the volute housing 23 when thedamper panel is in its forward position thereby closingthe room Outletof said housing. Depending from, said handle portion is a fiange member45, the rear face of which may be covered with a resilient gasketlikepad 46 fashioned from some suitable material, such as felt or softrubber., or the like. Said flange member 45 is fashioned slightly largerin dimensions than the opening, 49, in the diVid-. ing wall Hi, and isarranged to cover said opening When the damperpanel 38 is positioned soasto permit the free flow of air from the blower 22 through the opening|4and into theroomor space being Cooled. The gasket-like pad or, facing45 on said flange member assuresa good air seal around the opening 461whenthe flange 45 is ,positioned thereover.

A pair of spring members 41, disposed one at either side of the, damper;panel 38 and afm fixed to the top, cover l 5j.,of the. inner Cabinet 10,are provided to prevent said panel' ,from

'-'r'attling or creeping out of position. When the -creeping forward orrattling. With the Cabinet cover closed and the damper panel in aforward position, as shown in Fig. 5, the free ends o the springs 41will press downwardly on the top of said panel 38 thus preventingcreeping either forwardly or rearwardly and likewise stopping any rattletherein. Since these spring members are affixed to the cabinet cover itwill be appreciated that when the cover is opened the pressure thereonis released and the panel* is, of course, free to slide in eitherdirection.

A guide rod 48 has one end secured, as by the screws 49, to the panelmember 38 while the opposite end thereof is slidably positioned in abearing member 50, in turn, suitably aflixed to the dividing wall l'B.Although the guide means illustrated represents a preferred embodimentof the arrangement provided for acilitating the operation of the paneldamper, particularly when said panel is in its rearward position, it isappreciated that such guide means may take one of many other forms andthus the present invention should not be limited to the specificarrangement illustrated herein. i

From the foregoing it should now be apparent that a novel airconditioner having a simple and inexpensive means or exhausting stale orfoul air from a room, or for Varying the proportion of such air that isrecirculated Within the room being conditioned, has been shown anddescribed, and it is to be understood that changes may be made in theconstruction without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an air-Conditioning apparatus: an air chamber having a firstOutlet adapted to proi vide for the discharge of air into a room, and asecond Outlet adapted to provide for the discharge of air out of theroom; refrigerating means operable to condition the air in said chamber:a damper structure movable to close either of said outlets; said dampercomprising a vertically extending member disposed so as to close saidsecond Outlet when said first Outlet is opened, and a horizontallyextending member disposed so as to close said first Outlet when saidsecond Outlet is opened.

2. In an air-Conditioning apparatus: an air chamber having a firstOutlet at one end thereof adapted to provide for the discharge of airinto a room, and a second Outlet in one wall of said chamber adapted toprovide for the discharge of air to a point exterior of the room;refrigerating means operable to condition the air in said chamber; adamper structure including a vertically extending member arranged so asto close said second Outlet When said first Outlet is opened, and ahorizontally extending member disposed so as to close said first Outletwhen said second Outlet is opened; and means disposed on opposite sideWalls o said chamber for slidably supporting said damper therein.

3. In an air-Conditioning apparatus: an air chamber having a firstOutlet at one end thereof adapted to provide for the discharge of airinto a room, and a second Outlet in one wall of said chamber adapted toprovide for the discharge of air to a point 'exterior of the'room;refrigerating means operable to condition the air in said chamber; adamper structure movable to close either of said outlets; said damperincluding a horizontally extending panel disposed so as to projectthrough said second outlet in one wall of said chamber and furtherarranged so as to close said first Outlet when said second Outlet isopened, and a fiange member vertically depending from said panelarranged so as to close said second Outlet when said first Outlet isopened; and means for slidably supporting said damper in said chamber.

4. In an air Conditioning apparatus: an air chamber having a firstOutlet at one end there- 'of adapted to provide for the discharge of airprising a vertically extending member disposed so as to close saidsecond Outlet when said first Outlet is opened, and a horizontallyezxtending member disposed so as to close said first Outlet when saidsecond Outlet is opened.

5. In an air-Conditioning apparatus: an air chamber having a firstOutlet adapted to provide for the discharge of air into a room, and asecond Outlet adapted to provide for thedischarge of air to a pointexterior of the room; refrigerating means operable to condition the airin said chamber; a damper structure slidably arranged for closing eitherof said outlets; said damper comprising a vertically extending memberdisposed so as to close said second Outlet When said first Outlet isopened, and a horizontally extending member disposed so as to close saidfirst Outlet When said second Outlet is opened; and means for slidablysupporting said damper structure in said air chamber.

6. In air Conditioning apparatus: a plurality of cabinets arranged witha dividing wall therebetween; an air Conditioning chamber in one of saidcabinets; said chamber being arranged so that said dividing Wall formsone Vertical wall thereof; said chamber being ashioned with a firstOutlet at one end thereof adapted to provide for the discharge of airinto a room, and a second Outlet through said dividing wall adapted toprovide for the discharge of air to a point exterior of the room;refrigerating means operable to condition the air in said chamber, a

damper structure including a horizontally extending substantially latpanel portion having a depending flange proximate one end thereof andbeing movable to close either of said outlets; said damper beingdisposed so that the panel portion in one position projects through theOutlet in said dividing wall and across said chamber so as to close saidfirst Outlet while said second outlet is opened, and in another positionsaid panel portion projects through'said dividing wall outlet and thedepending flange portion thereof closes said second Outlet while saidfirst Outlet is opened.

7. In air Conditioning apparatus: a plurality of cabinets and a dividingwall therebetween; at least one of said cabinets having a cover hingedlymounted to permit access to the interior of said Cabinet; an airConditioning chamber in one of said cabinets; said chamber beingarranged so that said dividing wall forms one Vertical wall thereof;said chamber being further fashioned depending flange proximate .One endthereof' and :being movable to close either of said Outlets; said damperbeing disposed so that the panel portion in ;one position projectsthrough the Outlet in said dividing Wall and across said Chamber so asto close said first Outlet ,While said secondoutlet tis opened, inanother position said panel portionprojects through said dividing Wallout- -let and the depending fiange portion thereof closes said secondOutlet while said first Outlet is opened; -resilient means having oneend thereof -aifixed tosa-id Cabinet-cover for' movement there-;with-and so disposed that the opposite end thereo engages said damperWhen said cover is closed,

thereby fixedly retaining said damper in a pre- ;determined position.

8. In an air Conditioning apparatus: a plurality- ,of cabinets-and adividing all therebetween; at

least one of saidcabinets having a cover hingedly mounted .to permitaccess to the, interior of v said Cabinet; an air Conditioning Chamberin one of said cabinets; refrigerating means operable to condition theair insaid Chamber; said Chamber ,being arranged so thatsaid dividingWall forms -one--vertical all v ;thereof 'said Chamber being furtherfashioned With a,- first voutletgat One ;end thereofnadaptedto providefor the discharg -of air intoa room, and a second-Outlet through saiddividing Walladapted toprovide for the discharge of air to a point.exterior of the room; a

damper structure movable to close either ofvsaid outletsysaid dampercomprising a vertically extending. member disposed so as to close saidsecond Outlet When said first Outlet is opened, and ahorizontallyextending member disposed so ,as

'to close said first Outlet .when said second Outlet is opened; andguide means aifixed to said hori- Zontal member and slidably mounted insaid dividing Wall; and sprin -means having one vend thereof affixed tosaid Cabinet. cover or movement therewith and so disposed that theopposite end thereof engages, said -damper .When said coveris closed,thereby fixedly retaining said .damper .in

a predetermincd position.

ARVEL R. HARRIS.

REFERENCES .CITED The following references are of record inth fileofthis patent:

' UNITED STATES PATEN TS Number Name Date '2290,973 Jewell --July28,-1942 2,317,104 Moore 'Apr.'20-, 1943 2,391,151, Gibson Dec.-18, 19452-;401,560 Graham June 4, 1946'

